Fame's Game
by StarExplorer623
Summary: The media arrives to document life on the Enterprise and gets in the way. Please R&R and say if it is an original idea or not. Also, sorry if the summary is bad! I hope the story is better! : P.S. The genres might change, I dont know what it will be!


Jim rapped his fingers across the shuttle armrest, his eyes glued to the passing scenery. Earth. He had been to hundreds of planets, but so far none had even come close to this third planet from the Sun. But, even though it was him home, it wasn't where he was meant to be. San Francisco was passing by, all lights and buildings, so familiar. Home never felt far away, when it was the_ Enterprise_, but after a rest on Earth, it would feel like light years, which was mostly true.

But it wasn't that he didn't want to leave. He knew that Earth was just a brief rest, and he didn't want to stay to long.

The shuttle touched down outside Starfleet academy. The pilot turned around. "Thanks, Captain, sir." Jim smiled and nodded. Another young pilot aspiring to be in Starfleet.

"Thank, you." he answered, and opened the shuttle door. Starfleet academy surprised him every time. It was a building that almost seemed to be able to lift off the ground, carrying it's crew of cadets and admirals alike. The first time he walked through the doors, he had wondered at the legends who had done the same. He never thought that someday it would be he who was the legend.

The stares began as soon as he arrived inside. Cadets between classes slowed to catch a glipse of the captain who had saved countless worlds from extinction and explored the galaxy. They watched with face-splitting grins as he made his way to the beaming deck. Jim realized why he didn't enjoy coming back to the academy sometimes. Walking down a finally deserted hallway, he took a quick look at his watch.

"Late!" he hissed. He broke into a run, sprinting all the way to a bend where the beaming area would be in sight. He turned the corner was met head-on by a cadet.

Jim was knocked backward, only just barely avoiding falling, while the cadet wasn't so lucky. He was sprawled on the ground, gently rubbing his rushed foreward and helped him up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," The cadet answered, rubbing his head, eyes closed.

"I'm sorry, I guess I was just in a hurry." Jim said with a smile.

"Me too…" He rubbed his eyes open and saw Jim. His mouth fell open. "You're, you're, you're James T. Kirk!"

Jim's smile fell. "Yes, I know. Now, if you excuse me-" he began to walk to the beaming room, but the cadet fell into step beside him.

"This is amazing! I've been wanting to meet you forever!" he chatted. "One day, I will have a starship, too. Oh, I'll be a regular explorer. But for now, I am going on a starship to serve for the first time."

_I hope not, for the galaxy's sake, _Kirk had reached the room, but now he had to sufficiently cut him off. He stopped and turned to face the cadet in the doorway.

He cleared his throat, but the cadet continued, not phased at all. "So, I guess it's good to meet you now. Because, after all-"

"I have to return to my ship now. It was nice talking to you," He quickly intervened. He briskly turned to go and the cadet threw a parting to his back.

"Yes, I'll talk to you later. After all, I am serving on the _Enterprise_!" He took off in another direction, leaving Jim to put his hands on his head and sigh. He could only hope that the other cadets didn't look on him as some sort of higher being as well.

He was grateful when the engineer at the beam-up station only smiled politely at him before he energized , then he was back on the _Enterprise._

Scotty gave him a grin from his post. "A bit late, are ya, capin'?" He said. "Was it them cadets again?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle, Mr. Scott."

Once again in his ship, Jim felt more confident as he walked the halls. He didn't know Earth anywhere near as much as he knew the _Enterprise._ He reached the lift and waited for it to reach the bridge, ready and willing to become captain again. The doors opened and he stepped out, ready to ask Uhura if everybody was on board and to tell Sulu to bring the ship out when a light burst in front of his eyes. He bent down and blinked to wash away the temporary blindness and was aware of many people talking over one another.

"Mr. Spock!" Kirk called. He caught a glimpse of Spock trying to make his way over to him, but he was quickly pushed out by a hoard of people. Jim was being pressed against the wall, almost suffocated, but he couldn't stand it.

"Get out of the bridge!" He shouted angrily. They looked at one another surprised, but, one by one, they left the bridge in peace, pausing to take a couple of photos before they left.

The bridge was empty, save for the bridge crew, all of which were standing, watching for the captain's reaction. Jim took a deep breath and asked, "Who were they?"

Spock answered, dissaproval plain in his voice. "Reporters, Captain. Starfleet has accepted their proposal to report on daily life on a starship. Starfleet command has ordered us to let them observe and ask questions about what we do on a starship. Namely, the _Enterprise._ They will be here for the next few weeks."

***


End file.
